Effects of age and magnesium ions on oxygen toxicity in the neonate chicken

Effects of age and magnesium ions on oxygen toxicity in the neonate chicken

Author:

Torley, LW; Weiss, HS

Abstract:

White Leghorn male chicks, 2-6 days and 4 weeks old, were injected with MgCl2 (2 mM Mg/kg body weight) and exposed to 100% O2 at 75 lb/in2 (approximately 5 atm). Compared to saline-injected controls, average time to onset of convulsions was delayed 37% in the younger group with no significant difference in the protective effect during days 2-6. The delay in onset of convulsions was 66% in the 4-week-old group. The protective action of Mg++ in the chick agrees closely with that reported for the mature rat. Chicks treated with Mg++ did not appear depressed. Susceptibility to hyperbaric O2 convulsions increased uniformly between the 2nd and 6th day, with time to onset of convulsions decreasing by 1.4 min/day from the 19.3 +/- 1.01 (SE) min observed at day 2 for saline controls. Between the 6th and 28th day, susceptibility was relatively stable with time to onset decreasing by about 0.2 min/day in controls.

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Undersea Biomedical Research JournalThe Undersea Baromedical Research journal was published by the Undersea Medical Society, Inc. (now the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society) quarterly from 1974 to 1992 when the name changed to the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal.